1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to a light guide plate and a backlight unit having the same and more particularly, for example, to a light guide plate having improved optical characteristics and a backlight unit having the light guide plate.
2. Related Art
Generally, liquid crystal display (LCD) devices are utilized for convenience and efficient characteristics, such as slimness, light weight, and low power consumption. The LCD includes a LCD panel that displays an image, a backlight unit that supplies a light to the LCD panel, and a driving circuit that applies a driving signal to the LCD panel.
The backlight unit may be classified as a direct illumination type backlight unit or as an edge illumination type backlight unit according to a position of a light source for the backlight unit. In the direct illumination type backlight unit, a plurality of light sources are provided below the LCD panel to directly supply a light to the LCD panel. In the edge illumination type backlight unit, a light source is provided adjacent to a side surface of the LCD panel to supply a light to the LCD panel by using a light guide plate.
Moreover, in the edge illumination type backlight unit, the light sources may be provided at both sides of the light guide plate to supply more light to the LCD panel. In this instance, the light guide plate may have a structure capable of uniformly supplying the light over the entire surface of the LCD panel.